Over the past 24 hours, online rumours have quickly spread of the death of Nick Tsiligiris, owner of Footscray’s Olympic Doughnuts.

A photo has been posted on Reddit of a “Rest in Peace” banner taped to the closed Olympic Doughnuts stall at Footscray Station. Posts regarding his death have also been circulating Facebook.

Fortunately, it appears the rumours are false.

The filmmakers behind short documentary Olympic Nick: A Donutumentary, Tessa Mansfield-Hung and Ian Tran, were on Triple R’s Eat It this afternoon and read a statement from Tsiligiris’s daughter, Gina Hasapis, which confirmed: “Nick is still with us and has not passed away”.

The statement, which can be viewed on the Olympic Doughnuts Facebook page, says the family has been inundated with messages of condolences, and do not know how the rumours started.

“Shortly we will put a message out regarding Nick, his condition and future plans,” it continues.

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Tsiligiris has been serving hot-doughnuts at Footscray Station since 1979.

The original graffiti-covered caravan came under threat in 2014 when the station underwent a major redevelopment. The old stall has since been replaced with a purpose-built stall outside the station.

The shop has been closed for several months this year due to Tsiligiris’s poor health, which may have led to the false rumours of his passing.

If you’d like to know more about Nick Tsiligiris and the Olympic Doughnuts story, Olympic Nick: A Donutmentary will be screening as part of the 23rd Greek Film Festival at 2pm on Sunday October 16.